Author's Note: See? I told you! Quick! Or at least quicker than usual, right? You have to give me that much! Okay, no, you don't have to give me anything. To tell the truth I am not the most reliable of people. But you best believe that I will give Blake and Andie the ending that they deserve...

Oooh, do you want know what ballet movie I watched yesterday? No? I'm going to tell you anyway. Billy Elliot. Freaking brilliant...

Chapter 12: Can I Have This Dance- Part Deux

Blake

The first balcony has almost filled by the time we get there, making it virtually impossible for us to find our seats without meeting and greeting a dozen people on the way. Needless to say, Edie is enjoying this much more than I am. She was always a conversationalist, a social butterfly. She could talk her way into and out of anything. Including my life apparently...

We're finally sitting when another familiar face, a few rows ahead, calls for our attention. I look up, my expression set to seem pleasantly surprised, and feel the facade shatter. This familiar face is actually a familial one- Chase's. Andie's head is barely visible in the seat next to his.

"Your brother is here with his girlfriend..."

"She is not his girlfriend," I mutter, studying my program. They got tickets for our balcony. Chuck got them tickets for our balcony. Because all this night needed was an extra helping of awkward...

"We shouldn't ignore them."

"They are on a date and we-"

"Oh, are we on a date?"

"We have things to talk about."

She smirks, before turning to give the pair an apologetic grimace. Chase shrugs and gives us the thumbs up, before returning his attention to Andie.

"All right," she sighs, settling into her seat and fixing me with a look that would have tied my heart in knots not too long ago. "Let's talk..."

Andie

"See? I gave him a chance to get away. He didn't take it. He wants to be there. Happy now?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

Chase snorts and shakes his head, turning to look out over the edge of the balcony. "I feel bad for Moose and Sophie, down there with the peasants. Bet they're making out, though. As all young lovers should..."

"They totally should," I mutter, flipping through a program the usher gave me. "What do you think they're talking about right now?"

"They're too busy making out to talk."

"What?" I croak, twisting round in my seat.

"Whoa," Chase grins. "Pop a chill pill, Sunshine; I'm still talking about Moose and Sophie." I exhale and unwind. "But how could you focus on them- or us for that matter- with my decrepit brother and his ex-girlfriend nearby?"

I look at him, really look, and grimace. "So I'm being a drag, huh?"

"Yeah, you've pretty much brought my ego down to sea level. Is this date that boring?"

"Tuxes, tutus, and tiaras? How could that be boring?"

"O-kay, sarcasm, got it," he nods. "This isn't your scene, right?"

I open my mouth for another sharp and witty retort...but snap it shut a second later. With him staring at me like this, like I'm the only one he sees in this big old crowded theatre, it hits me that we really are on a date. Not with Moose and Sophie or Blake and Edie. It's just us. This is it for us. "Chase, any scene that has you in it is my scene."

That must have been the right answer, because I get a kiss, just as the lights flicker off...

Blake

"Are you listening to me?"

"What? Oh. Of course."

"No. You're not listening to me. You're looking at them."

I open my mouth to object and clamp it shut a moment later. She has the almost supernatural ability to render one speechless with a single stare. Especially effective when one is trying to lie about something. Thankfully, the lights begin to dim and the audience stirs up in applause before our conversation can continue. But even as the familiar chords of music resonate throughout the theatre, my eyes are dragged from the stage, to the shadowy silhouettes in front of us. I am starting to understand why people stare at car crashes...

"You're doing it again."

"No talking during the show."

Her gaze seems to pierce the darkness for a moment, searching me like I stole her purse, before she turns back to look at the stage. My concentration is hardly helped by the fact that I know this show inside out; that I can see each movement before it happens. It is beautiful all the same...

Guy makes his appearance as Prince Siegfried, celebrating his coming-of-age with friends and subjects. Natalia Makarova plays the Queen Mother, pushing her son to find a wife. Funnily enough, I relate to this more now than I ever did before. When Anna finally appears as Odette, I can't help but glance at Edie. She catches my eye and smiles a little. How long has it been since we were up there, dancing these parts? Not very long at all...

The nostalgic spell is broken once the lights go up again for intermission. I turn on my phone as soon as we leave, accustomed to being on call every minute that I'm awake. Sure enough, three messages have gone to voicemail. One is from the President of the school board, concerning the cost of repairs to the studio. Another is from Milo, concerning his progress with Madame Coquin. The last voice is unfamiliar and I listen to it more intently than the others as Andie, Chase, Moose and Sophie approach, grinning from ear to ear...

"Yo, that was da bomb diggity!"

"I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to this production as da bomb diggity."

"Um...what my charming boyfriend is trying to say, Ms. Moss..."

"Good evening, Mr. Collins. I'm Doctor Aaron Hunt from Northwest Hospital. We're calling on behalf of Mr. Charles Collins, who has you listed as his next of kin. Your father was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit after suffering a concussion..."

"Blake? What's with the face?"

My voice is steadier than I feel as I look at Andie. "Dad's hurt..."

Andie

The last time I was in hospital I said goodbye to my mom. So the thought of seeing the inside of another one, of seeing another parent hooked up to tubes and wires and shit...well, it kind of puts a damper on what was turning out to be a good night. But I really like Chuck. And that goes double for his sons. Moose and Sophie seem kind of unsure about being there, but Chase mumbles something about them being family whether they like it or not. I get the feeling that Edie would come along with or without permission, but Blake asks her to go with him anyway...

Northern Hospital is one of those private, non-profit places; really clean and quiet and clinical. As we follow the nurse past all these rooms I keep thinking about how many people must have died here. Which doesn't help at all...

"Idina, what happened?"

Idina is really sweet and round and wrinkly, like a sun-dried apple or something. She feels more like a grandma than a housekeeper and when she gets up from her chair in the corner Chase hugs her.

"Sir, I forgot my purse in the kitchen and when I went back for it, I found your father on the floor..."

"He might have hit his head on the counter."

"How the hell did that happen?" Blake mutters, going over to his bedside, with Edie trailing him like a shadow.

"We won't know until he wakes up and tells us."

"How long has he been out for?" Chase murmurs, joining them on the opposite side of the bed. I shuffle over and hold the hand not resting on the bed railing. His brother seems to notice it more than he does.

"About two hours."

"Idina, you've been here for two hours?" She nods and Blake shakes his head. "Thank you. But you should go home. We'll call if anything changes."

She shuffles out with the nurse and Moose and Sophie squeeze into the chair she left behind. We all go quiet and just kind of...watch Chuck being unconscious. After a while Blake lifts a hand to his head, stops when he sees us looking and lowers it to the railing. Edie reaches out and puts her hand over his. My breathing hitches as I watch for his reaction, but he just clears his throat.

"I think I'll go and...wait...in the waiting room."

"We should wait here."

"Standing here isn't going to wake him up, Chase."

"Neither will abandoning him, Blake."

"You're being melodramatic."

"You're being an asshole."

He looks ready to retaliate, but decides against it at the last minute and just walks out, with Edie shadowing him. Moose and Soph jump up to fill the space and the silence they left behind with small talk. I want to chip in, but I feel like my brain left the room, too. And that unscratchable itch is starting up again...

"I need to use the bathroom."

"I thought you already went."

"I didn't really go that time."

"Then why did you go?"

"I needed to check my face."

Chase shakes his head and almost smirks. "Women."

"I know, right?"

The waiting room is almost empty from what I can see...not that I can see much. Just Blake hunched over in a chair and Edie perched on a coffee table, trying to engage him in conversation. Her efforts are paying off from the looks of it...

"We had a fight."

"About me?"

"Among other things."

"Well, I am sorry about that. I know that you must be under a lot of pressure from MSA. I didn't come here to add to that. Quite the opposite..."

"Boy, I'm parched!" Blake and Edie look up as I penguin-march around the corner like I just got there. "Anybody for a Diet Coke?" I ask on my way to the vending machine. It takes me a second to remember that there are no pockets on my dress and no money in it either.

"No."

"No, thank you. I should actually go now, before I get too comfortable. This environment isn't conducive to friendly chitchat." Any relief that I feel as she gets up is crushed when she adds: "I'll be back tomorrow morning. Call me if he comes round before then. Goodnight, Blake. Andie."

As soon as she leaves I shuffle over to the seat next to his.

"You two are lookin' awful chummy all of a sudden."

"Don't start."

"Fine. I won't. I'll stay out of it. But just know that I'm okay to talk about it. Even if I think it's a big mistake. I mean, HUGE-"

"It is over between us. I have no intention of rekindling anything. All right?"

"All right," I say, biting back a grin. He shakes his head at me, the ghost of a smile on his face. We sit there for a minute, just soaking up the silence, before I remember something that I wanted to talk about: "Hey, Anna's turns were pretty badass, right? And Guy was like, a hundred percent there for her."

"That's the kind of thing I was talking about in class."

"Really? I have no idea what you're talking about half the time."

"I figured."

I snort and thump his knee, before jumping up. "Let's try it."

"What? Now? We won't get far with that dress."

"Want me to take it off?" I ask, folding it up past my knees. He looks at me like I just sucker-punched him. "Blake, breathe. I was kidding! Now I wanna learn. Get off your ass and teach me."

He must be too tired to argue, because he just gets up and starts to tell me everything that is wrong with my positioning...

A/N: Ah, nothing stirs up drama and romance like a hospital, eh? As unreliable as I am, the one thing that I can promise is more Blake/Andie/Edie in the next chapter. Much more!

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